English
fable
Fable comes from Old French fable ‘fable, story’, from Latin for ‘to speak, say’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-1‘to speak’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰéh₂ti1‘to speak’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fāōr1‘to speak’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfor2as fārī‘to speak, say’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfābula2
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400fable2‘fable, story’
- Englishearliest quotation 1591fable2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin for
- 2 Wiktionary, English fable
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1591, William Shakespeare, The First Part of Henry the Sixt: “He Fables not, I heare the enemie: / Out…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-Wiktionary, Latin for‘to speak’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰéh₂tiWiktionary, Latin for‘to speak’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fāōrWiktionary, Latin for‘to speak’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEforWiktionary, English fableas fārī‘to speak, say’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfābulaWiktionary, English fable
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400fableWiktionary, English fable‘fable, story’
- Englishearliest quotation 1591fableWiktionary, English fable. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1591, William Shakespeare, The First Part of Henry the Sixt: “He Fables not, I heare the enemie: / Out…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to speak’
phone, focus, professor, fuel, ben, phase, famous, ban, favourite, favor, photographer, fantasy, emphasis, phenomenon, profession, bee, fancy, fate, fame, confession, confess, fatal, fairy, abandon, phantom, symphony, beacon, infant, beck, boon, bane, epiphany, foyer, banish, buoy, profess, bene, fay, banal, nefarious, 124 more
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰéh₂ti ‘to speak’
through Latin for ‘to speak, say’
through Latin fābula
Today it means
noun A fictitious narrative intended to enforce some useful truth or precept, usually with animals, etc. as characters; an apologue. Prototypically, Aesop's Fables.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “fable”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin for. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- / fable